Becoming…my Jewish blogbeing Jewish, as a woman

A mother in America

FemaleJewishBlogger on July 23rd, 2007

This is a little rant, I guess about what it is to be a family in America:
Where is the childcare? Where is the support for the working moms? I’m not even a single mom–I’m married–and I’m still complaining.
I was listening to NPR today, and there was this theme today on “On Point” which was “does abstinence work for teenagers?” or something to that effect. And the women on the show were debating (arguing a bit) whether it was better to include comprehensive sex education in teens’ education, or just teach abstinence. Now one woman was saying that while with her own children she encouraged them to wait as long as possible, she also wanted them to always turn to her as a first resource in the event that they did become active in this department. Just as she always would ask them not to drink and never to get in a car with someone who had been drinking–they could and should always call her to get a ride home should they be in such a situation. To which the woman advocation teaching abstinence only replied, “well, medically it is proven that abstinence works, and that has not been proven about regular safe-sex sex education. This annoyed me greatly. Then a more liberal voice gave the statistics that in California which has refused grant money for “abstinence only” programs, the teen pregnancy rate has fallen by 40 somehthing percent, and the abortion rate has fallen as well–so it’s not just a matter of not giving birth in the first place. The abstinence only woman said that abstinence was saying, not “no” but “yes!” she said, “it means, ‘I say yes to having a future.’ “
…But it started me thinking: if teens are putting off sex, they should have a valid option if they have gotten pregnant: like getting married, and knowing that their life is still on track.
Why is our country so not family friendly???? Why can’t a person start a family at a young age and still expect to get an education and go on to a well-earning job–why renegade all people who have accidentally or purposely ended up with a family at a young (college or younger) age to a life of struggle. It could be all solved with government grants and quality government-sponsored childcare.

Or take the guy on NPR last night that said he didn’t think it was a good idea for “poor people” to be getting rent vouchers that allowed them to move into good neighborhoods because it was (paraphrasing) “no fair to the people who had played by the rules to make their money: making good choices and doing all the correct things. And now poor people who hadn’t done all the right things would be their neighbors.” Classism anybody?

Then on the next segment, a guy who was a guest on the show said that (again paraphrasing) “Katie Couric can’t be expected to do a good job as a news anchor, being that she is a single mother with two girl children at home.” This infuriated me, because both the fill-in host of the show as well as the other guests didn’t call him on this sexist remark (it had just been noted that she made 15 mil a year, so no issues with getting a nanny here).

Thank GOODNESS a caller about 15 minutes later did make just this point that it was off the wall to bring in the issue of her single-mother status in regards to her job.

Excuse my angry tone (not that the subject shouldn’t get one mad!) since I am in a rush here, and don’t have time to edit for more objective voice…

In any case, I am thinking that the problem in this country is not abortion or the glass ceiling for women–but the social and job system that is only set up for college educated males.

Women do not have equality as long as any woman can not get an education, have a family AND make a decent living.

Thank you and good afternoon!

Signed,
Me on my Soapbox

Tags: family, feminism, social justice
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